PLEASE READ ALL SECTIONS IN THEIR ENTIRETY BEFORE BOOKING:

Welcome to SUNY Niagara's student massage therapy clinic. Our clinic suite is located in Room C-282 on the second floor of the C-building (Science Building) at the Sanborn Campus. Clinic clients may park in Lot 5 on the back side of the campus. There is no charge for parking, and you do not need a parking permit. Staircases are located on both sides of the building entrance and an elevator is located halfway down the left-hand hallway. When you arrive on the second floor, proceed to the end of the long hallway and we are located in a small crossway just past Radiologic Technology or Surgical Technology, depending on which. side of the building you are on.

SCHEDULING

Massage therapy appointments for the Fall 2025 semester are available from 10:15am-12:15pm on Mondays and Fridays only. Please note that we cannot deviate from these times as all clinic sessions are held during the students' scheduled class time. We cannot provide earlier or later appointment times and we can only accommodate a limited number of appointments each day. ALL APPOINTMENTS MUST BE BOOKED AT 15 MINUTES PAST THE HOUR OR 45 MINUTES PAST THE HOUR, REGARDLESS OF WHAT TIMES ARE SHOWING ON THE CALENDAR (example--10:15 or 10:45am)! Appointments booked to start on the hour or half hour (such as at 10:30am or 11am) will be rescheduled slightly (within 15 minutes either way) to maximize the students' schedules.

All massage therapy sessions are by appointment only. All appointments must be made online--we cannot take appointment requests over the phone. Walk-ins are not accepted. Same day appointments are not guaranteed, so please schedule in advance. We have instituted a limit of two appointments per client per month. Our student therapists are required as part of their education to work in a clinical setting with a wide variety of clients. Given our limited availability, we cannot accommodate weekly appointments or same day back-to-back appointments at this time. Please note that we have a 30-Day booking window in place--you can only make appointments 30 days out from today's date.

When booking, please note the following: 1.) if you do not receive a confirmation email from Massage Book, your appointment did not go through. 2.) All clients can book online, whether new or returning. If you receive a notification that new clients need to call to schedule, this simply means someone else was attempting to book the same time slot and it is no longer available. This is an issue on Massage Book's end, not ours. Please try another time slot and if the problem persists, please call us at (716) 614-6857.

Please review our list of safety restrictions at the end of this page before booking. Also, please see our Cancellation/No-Show Policy below for more information on what to do if you cannot make your appointment.

THE DAY OF YOUR APPOINTMENT...

Please arrive 15 minutes before your appointment time in order to check in with our clinic instructor and fill out any intake paperwork and health history. Please provide your student therapist with as much relevant information as you can. Cell phones should be silenced or turned off. The student therapist will bring you back into the clinic, conduct their pre-treatment interview, and provide any instructions. Once they leave the room so you can prepare, please get on the table as quickly as possible. During the massage, the clinic instructor will enter briefly to observe the student therapist's work. Please be sure to communicate with your student therapist. After the session, please re-dress as quickly as possible so they may conduct their post-treatment interview.

Please note that, with the exception of the first appointment of the day, your appointment start time is actually 5 minutes later than what is scheduled. The scheduling software only permits booking in 15 minute increments, but our students require 5 minutes between clients to turn their room over. Also, please note that the actual hands-on time for your appointment will NOT be exactly 30 or 60 minutes. 60-minute appointments will have 50 minutes of hands-on time. 30-minute appointments will be kept as close to 30 minutes as possible without putting our students too far off schedule, but may only be 20-25 minutes of hands-on time

Late arrivals or those clients requiring more time to get on or off the table will have time deducted from their hands-on time as we cannot extend sessions due to schedule constraints.

CLINIC CLOSURES:

The clinic will be closed on all days that the college is closed. This includes all observed holidays as well as winter, spring, and summer breaks. In the event of inclement weather, please check with the SUNY Niagara website, and/or the WGRZ, WIVB, or WKBW list of closures before heading to your appointment. If classes are cancelled, the clinic is also closed.

COST/ TIPS/ GRATUITIES/ GIFTS:

All massages are free and tips are not permitted. While we appreciate your generosity, and while it is customary to tip a massage therapist, it is illegal under New York State law for massage therapy students to accept gratuities or gifts of any kind. This includes cash, gift cards, cookies, candy, etc. Gratuities left for students will be confiscated by the supervising instructor and returned to the client at their next visit or via USPS mail. Students may also be dismissed from the Massage Therapy program if they are found to have accepted gifts or gratuities. If you had an excellent session, please feel free to show your gratitude with a positive review for your student therapist.

CLINIC RULES AND SAFETY RESTRICTIONS:

For your safety, please note the following restrictions:

1. PREGNANCY: Massage is generally considered safe to receive during all trimesters of pregnancy when performed by a well-informed therapist with appropriate training. Our students are trained in prenatal massage prior to their clinical semesters. However, as we are a school and our students have not received advanced training in prenatal massage, at this time we cannot accept any clients who are in their first trimester of pregnancy (weeks 0-13). You may book with us in your second or third trimester; however, we will require a doctor's note stating that it is safe for you to receive massage therapy if at any point yours is considered a high-risk pregnancy. Please note that massage therapy is contraindicated in cases of pre-eclampsia so if you are diagnosed with pre-eclampsia at any point, we cannot work with you until after delivery.

2. MOBILITY ISSUES: Clients with mobility issues must be able to maneuver themselves on and off the massage table in order to lay down during their massage. We do not have access to Hoyer lifts and our students are not trained to lift or transfer individuals to and from mobility devices. If you are unable to get yourself on or off the table, you may still make an appointment as there are positioning adaptations available, so we are still able to work with you.

3. DIAGNOSES REQUIRING MD CLEARANCE FOR MASSAGE THERAPY: Clients with the following medical diagnoses MUST obtain a doctor's note stating that massage therapy is safe to receive prior to their first appointment: cancer (current or within 12 months of completing treatment), blood clotting disorders/on blood thinning medication, heart disease, kidney disease, liver disease, uncontrolled high blood pressure, joint replacement, recent surgery, neuropathy, pitting edema, etc. If you are unsure if you will need a doctor's note, please feel free to call the SUNY Niagara massage therapy department at (716) 614-6857 for verification.

4. INJECTIONS: If you are receiving a medical intervention that involves any kind of injection, you cannot receive massage within 72 hours of receiving the injection. Because of the circulatory effects of massage, it can affect the placement and/or metabolization rate of the injection substance. Please schedule accordingly.

5. ACUTE ILLNESS/INFECTION: If you have a fever, feel ill, or have an active infection of any kind, please cancel and re-schedule your appointment. Massage can actually make you feel worse during the first few days of illness. In cases of fever, we cannot treat you until you are fever-free for 24 hours without medication. In cases of bacterial infection, we cannot treat you until you have been on antibiotics for a minimum of 24 hours. Fungal infections of any kind must be disclosed to the therapist prior to treatment and the affected areas MUST remain covered at all times. If you attempt to come in sick, we will cancel your appointment and send you home!

6. ACUTE INJURY: If you have sustained any type of major injury: motor vehicle accident, major slip-and-fall, concussion, broken bones, animal bite, etc. within 30 days prior to your appointment, it is MANDATORY that you bring in a doctor's note stating that you have been checked out and it is safe for you to receive massage therapy. If you do not bring us a note, we will cancel your appointment and send you home!

7. ANIMAL BITE: Given the recent uptick in rabies cases throughout Western New York, if you are bitten by an animal that results in a break in the skin, we will require a doctor’s note stating that you have been seen and cleared by a doctor.

8. MEDICATION/SUBSTANCE USE: If you are under the influence of any substance, whether prescription, over-the-counter, or recreational, that impairs your ability to provide informed consent, your appointment will be cancelled and you will not be seen. Inability to provide informed consent is an absolute contraindication under NYS scope of practice for massage therapy.

9. INFORMED CONSENT: Failure to provide the clinic with appropriate paperwork/ signatures indicates an unwillingness to provide informed consent, which will result in the cancellation of your appointment.

10. PERSONAL HYGIENE: Please observe good personal hygiene practices prior to coming in for your massage. If we have significant concerns about your hygiene, we may need to reschedule your appointment.

NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY:

Our clinic does not discriminate in providing massage therapy to clients based upon race, culture, ethnicity, age, gender identity, religious or personal beliefs, or sexual orientation.

ZERO-TOLERANCE POLICY:

Our clinic has a zero-tolerance policy for all participants in regard to bullying/inappropriate conduct. Sexual harassment or otherwise inappropriate behavior, conversations, or innuendo will be grounds for immediate session termination and discharge from the program. Bullying and physical or verbal abuse of any kind will also be grounds for immediate session termination and discharge from the program.

RIGHT OF REFUSAL POLICY:

SUNY Niagara's student therapists are afforded the Right of Refusal and may terminate your session at any time with just and reasonable cause. "Just and reasonable cause" can include but is not limited to: violation of the zero-tolerance policy, presence of an absolute contraindication under NYS law, or presence of a condition that could qualify as "unsafe to receive massage therapy" without an accompanying doctor's release.

CANCELLATION/NO-SHOW POLICY:

Our students are required by New York State Law to complete 150 hours of clinical practicum work to be eligible to sit for the state massage therapy licensing exam. Hours are only awarded when students are working one-on-one with a client. No-Call/No-Shows and last-minute cancellations negatively affect our students' ability to meet their educational requirements and graduate on time. We understand emergencies happen, but if you cannot make your appointment, please cancel online ASAP so that we may fill your time slot. Clients who cancel last minute (less than two hours prior to their appointment start time) and/or no-show for more than one appointment will be discharged from the massage therapy clinic and will not be allowed to schedule future appointments. If you are unable to cancel online, please message us through MassageBook or call the office at (716) 614-6857 and we would be happy to assist.

We look forward to working with you! Thank you for supporting our students!

SUNY Niagara Massage Therapy Clinic

Deep Tissue Massage